Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. cut its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 49.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,248 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 87,964 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Veracyte worth $3,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 5,435 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Veracyte by 12.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,805,000 after purchasing an additional 21,330 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,431,000 after buying an additional 105,499 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after buying an additional 15,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth $305,000.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, insider John Leite sold 1,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total transaction of $60,717.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 82,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,901,188.63. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 7,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.09, for a total transaction of $361,086.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 318,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,003,015.27. This trade represents a 2.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,385 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,179. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCYT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.14.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $35.75 on Tuesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.61 and a fifty-two week high of $50.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 94.08 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.73.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a genomic diagnostics company focused on improving diagnostic accuracy and patient care through advanced molecular testing. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company develops and commercializes minimally invasive genomic tests that aid in the diagnosis of thyroid, lung and other diseases. Veracyte’s proprietary platform analyzes gene expression patterns in clinical samples to help physicians make more informed treatment decisions, reducing unnecessary surgeries and improving patient outcomes.

The company’s flagship product, the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier, is designed to assess thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology, helping clinicians distinguish benign from suspicious nodules.